A Note from Graeme Budler, Executive Principal

Dear Parents,

Hopefully, you have managed to catch your breath since yesterday's announcement and reorganized your dwelling to resemble a school. The staff met today to ensure we are ready for online and home learning tomorrow, and we look forward to continuing the education of your children as seamlessly as possible.

Please do not underestimate the emotional toll on your children and yourself of hearing yesterday's news. I continue to encourage you to adopt the maxim that near enough is good enough. We do want to continue with our teaching and learning programmes but need to keep perspective.

I realize that you may have many questions about the status of activities, such as the production and tournament week. The leadership continue to monitor the situation and will update you when we have a clearer picture.

In the meanwhile, I continue to pray for your family.

Kind regards,

Graeme Budler
Executive Principal

Well-being During Lockdown

As we enter lockdown, here are a couple of reminders of what we can do to navigate this time together successfully.

1. Remember that you are at home, during a crisis, trying to work. Reduce demands and adjust expectations both for you as parents and for your children and their learning.

2. Accentuate the positive! Look for small wins, whether yours or your children. Catch your kids in the good moments and praise them for their perseverance, resilience, courage and kindness. Importantly, if the news stream is getting you down, unplug and reset.

3. Maintain a routine that includes things that bring joy to you and your family. The simple acts of getting a good night's sleep, getting dressed and ready for a purposeful day, and eating a healthy diet help the day pass smoothly.

4. Stay connected with wider whanau and friends. Social connectedness cultivates a sense of belonging, boosts self-esteem and promotes emotional health (even on ZOOM or TEAMS!)

Lastly, cast your anxiety onto the Living God. Know your identity and purpose; rest in Him and that He cares for you. While COVID-19 will come and go, God is eternal, unwavering, and steadfast. We can trust Him in times of uncertainty.

Primary School Notices

Teachers have sent out an email to all parents of students in the Primary School regarding Home Learning. Please communicate with the teachers if your child cannot access the daily online class chat or if there is a problem with the Home Learning Packs (Y1-5).

Primary teachers will be available to respond to emails between 8:30 am and 3:30 pm on the days they are usually in the classroom.

Middle School Notices

Parents and students will have received our Middle School Distance Learning information today. This process lets you see the daily plans for this week's Thursday and Friday, including the Zoom times and links.

Generally speaking, there is a Zoom time each morning, including a Devotion and learning time and another Zoom later in the day. Additional Zoom times can be made available for Year 9 and to support learners in various ways.

Actions Points:

• Please read the information supplied regarding online protocols to help us minimize any online issues that affect our students' use of their devices.
• Communicate regarding any issues with your child's Homeroom teacher. This action includes any internet or access to device issues and concerns about how your child is coping.

Senior School Notices

Timetabled Classes

As per our protocols for longer lockdowns in the past, our teaching and learning timetable is delivered as follows:

1. Each course will have a maximum of three online learning sessions per week (Y10 options may be less).
2. This week this may only involve two online learning sessions.
3. A maximum of 1.5 hours per week per class is permitted (30mins x3).
4. There should be additional work set through Teams that you can check to measure engagement and progress.
5. The Senior Management requires teachers not to book times with students outside of their regular timetabled classes.

Teachers have all been given information about online protocols as part of their pre-lockdown briefing. It includes specifics around conduct, privacy, subjects covered and use of sources online, designed to keep all parties safe. These protocols can be found here.

Lessons Online

From this Thursday onwards, teachers will be scheduling short Teams meetings with each class, as per students' timetabled classes. These will be 15 – 30 minutes of teacher-directed tasks, with further learning tasks to be set for students to work on over the two days independently. Students will need to ensure they have Microsoft Teams open and click on the relevant Team to access the scheduled meeting. The planned meeting will show up in their Teams calendar, as well as in the conversation feed.

We understand that students may be anxious or less confident using this platform and if there are any issues with connecting, please get in touch with your child's form teacher to help assist them.

NCEA Assessments and Trips

We are in the process of evaluating how many assessments will be affected during this lockdown and next week should there be a lockdown extension. Teachers will adjust assessments as needed should on-site presence be required. Likewise, we are evaluating trips on a case-by-case basis. While we prefer to postpone field trips, we may have to cancel some, unfortunately.